Mobile Penetration Nears 80% In July.

As of July 31, the number of mobile customers reached 37 mln, which is 79% of Ukraine’s population. The leaders, Kyivstar (16.6 mln) and UMC (15.5 mln), occupy about 86.6% of mobile market. Alexander Paraschiy: While the number of mobile customers keeps growing, the trend suggests that market is nearing saturation, and is more competitive than it was a year ago: Kyivstar and UMC are no longer the leaders in connecting new customers. In 2H06, we expect the share of the four main mobile operators in incremental customer base to be relatively equal, with a slight advantage for the new player on the market, VimpelCom.